Charles Crawford
Charles Ray Crawford, who was 59 and had spent more than three decades on death row, was executed by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman on October 15, 2025, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. His family, with whom he spent the afternoon before the execution, heard his final words, "I love you. I'm at peace." His lawyers said he was executed without a fair trial, arguing that his trial attorneys overrode his repeated wishes, and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution; the court declined without explanation. One witness account reports that his breathing slowed and his chest stopped moving about eight minutes after the procedure began.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. His lawyers said his trial attorneys overrode his repeated wishes at trial and that he did not receive a fair trial.
Reported by: Mississippi Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Witnesses (witnesses); his lawyers; U.S. Supreme Court (court).